In the News

Santa Cruz, Soquel Creek water customers to get desal leaflet in
bills

By J.M. Brown
Santa Cruz Sentinel, 4/18/13

SOQUEL -- Two agencies on the cusp of releasing a long-delayed
environmental analysis of a proposed seawater desalination facility
will soon stuff water bills with a tri-fold leaflet telling
customers how to get involved.

Reviewed by a desalination task force Wednesday, the leaflet
outlines supply challenges faced by the city of Santa Cruz and
Soquel Creek Water District and explains the process of pumping
ocean water to a desalting facility and eventually to consumer taps.

The material also briefly addresses steps the agencies are taking
to minimize environmental harm, such as screening the intake pipe to
reduce harm to fish and diluting leftover salt to levels matching
ocean salinity.

The City Council and district board will host a joint study
session at 7 p.m. May 7 to explain how the report will be evaluated
after its release, projected for some time between May 8 and 17. The
agencies will hold separate public hearings to receive comments and
questions June 3 at times and locations to be announced.

In the meantime, the agencies also are working on a video about
the environmental issues to be distributed on social networks.
Material about the forthcoming report also will go out by email.

"We are trying to reach a wider group of people," said Melanie
Schumacher, public outreach coordinator for the desalination
project.

District board member and task force chairman Bruce Daniels
agreed, saying, "We need to constantly be thinking about that.
Rather than spending a half-hour talking to one person, try to reach
as many as you can."

Daniels and fellow task force member Bruce Jaffe raised questions
recently about early drafts of the video transcript written by
staff. It featured economic and quality-of-life concerns often
stressed by the city as key reasons desalination is needed during
drought to increase water supply.

But Daniels and Jaffe were concerned the language could be taken
as advocacy -- a key criticism among water customers who see
desalination as too costly and energy intensive.

The district board members and City Councilwoman Cynthia Mathews
agreed on changes to the video that narrowed its focus to
environmental aspects.

Instead of Mathews, a vocal supporter of studying desalination,
and Santa Cruz City Manager Martín Bernal appearing in the video to
discuss tangential issues, it's expected that only Mayor Hilary
Bryant and district board President Thomas LaHue will speak to
supply threats while key staff explain how the desal process would
unfold if approved.

"We are trying to keep it squeaky clean," Daniels said.

The final environmental report, with answers to public and
regulatory questions, is expected late this year before the council
and district consider a decision in 2014. Voters would then be asked
to weigh in.

The task force received an update Wednesday on the projected cost
of the controversial project. In addition to the nearly $14 million
spent so far on studies, the cost of design and construction stands
at $114 million.

The task force reviewed a list of state and federal grant and
loan programs that could be tapped for the project or conservation
and environmental measures.

"At end of the day, we may not get any money but we will look
under every stone," Daniels said.